No Nutritional Value? Top 5 organic food stories of the week

The organic apple cart was upset this week when the UK Food Standards Agency released the results of their research into the nutritional benefits of organic food. According to the FSA there aren't any, or least none that are 'important'! Unsurprisingly this has caused a ruckus, with the Soil Association leading the retaliation from the organic food sector. They have accused the FSA of a narrow field of research which excluded many of the existing studies on the subject. To bolster nutritional confidence we take a tour of the blogosphere orchard to pick a few ripe organic apples of our own.National Geographic Traveler: Organic Chocolate in Ecuador by Sarah Aldrich"Kallari bars are considered to be some of the best chocolate around (at least by pastry chef Kate Zuckerman--see this article--and Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert). Available in Whole Foods markets, they are a sweet you can feel good about buying."

Observer Organic Allotment: One Tomato, Two Tomatoes"Almost too anxious to talk about it, but we are heading into a critical stage for the tomatoes. We are trialling only three of Fern Verrow's Oli Rose at the plot, plus one nameless self-seeder (though we didn't grow any last year?)"

Organic Authority: 8 Must-Have Organic Herbs and Spices by Barbara Feiner "Americans consume far too much sodium, which contributes to high blood pressure and fluid retention. You can replace much of the salt you add to foods with organic herbs and spices. They’re flavorful, economical and add variety."

Soil Association: Response to the Food Standards Agency's Organic Review""We are disappointed in the conclusions the researchers have reached. The review rejected almost all of the existing studies of comparisons between organic and non-organic nutritional differences. This was because these studies did not meet particular criteria fixed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which carried out the review."

Times Online: Organic food has no health benefits, study finds by Valerie Elliott"The research — the first and biggest study undertaken of scientific papers published in the past 50 years on the health and diet benefits of organic food — will come as a blow to the organic food industry, which is now worth £2.1 billion a year in Britain."